Semi-rigid impervious package for liquid products

ABSTRACT

A semi-rigid impervious package for liquid products comprising a container which can be cardboard, having therein an impervious lining made, for example of thermoplastic material. The container is polygonal in cross-section and comprises a number of panels each having a flap at each end. The flaps form a continuous flange at each end of the container to which are fixed a rigid end cap and a base, respectively. One panel has tear-line perforations providing a tab for opening the container. The lining is a tube sealed transversely at each end forming two corners at each end which are folded over the end of the tube in such a way that one corner can be drawn through the opening made in the container when the tab is torn and lifted. The corner can then be cut and used as a pouring spout for dispensing the contents of the lining.

United States Patent [191 Trentesaux 1 June 3,1975

[ SEMI-RIGID lMPERVlOUS PACKAGE FOR [73] Assignee: American Can Company,

Greenwich, Conn.

22 Filed: Mar. 26, 1974 211 Appl. No.: 454,836

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 228,021, Feb. 22,

1972, abandoned.

[52] U.S. C1. 229/7 R; 229/14 BE [51] Int. Cl B65d 5/56; B6Sd 25/14 [58] Field of Search 229/14 BA, 14 BL, 14 BW,

2/1965 lgmell 229/14 BA X 3/1966 Deegan 229/14 B Primary ExaminerDavis T. Moorehead Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert P. Auber; Paul R. Audet; George P. Ziehmer [57} ABSTRACT A semi-rigid impervious package for liquid products comprising a container which can be cardboard, having therein an impervious lining made, for example of thermoplastic material. The container is polygonal in cross-section and comprises a number of panels each having a flap at each end. The flaps form a continuous flange at each end of the container to which are fixed a rigid end cap and a base, respectively. One panel has tear-line perforations providing a tab for opening the container. The lining is a tube sealed transversely at each end forming two corners at each end which are folded over the end of the tube in such a way that one corner can be drawn through the opening made in the container when the tab is torn and lifted. The corner can then be cut and used as a pouring spout for dispensing the contents of the lining.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-impart application of US. Pat. application Ser. No. 228,02l filed 22nd Feb. I972, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a semi-rigid impervious package and also to a method of making such a package.

It is known that such a package is frequently used for containing liquid products or products in powder form or also granulated products susceptible to contamination by air or damp.

Since the preparation of a fully impervious container is always an intricate matter, the package most fre quently used for this purpose is one comprising a box of semi-rigid material in which at least one bag made of a supple, impermeable material is placed, forming an impervious lining to the container.

In general, means of access are fitted into the latter to permit removal of a part of the lining, which is cut at this place so that the contents may be extracted.

A package of this kind is described, for example, in US. Pat. No. 3,168,233, according to which a rigid container is formed by a polygonal enclosure the panels of which include widely-dimensioned flaps which, in particular, form a cap for the package, at least one of these flaps containing perforations for a tab for opening the cap, hinged along one of the edges of the latter; placed behind this tab is one of the pointed corners produced by closing the bag by welding, and this corner is glued to the back of the tab in such way as to form a pouring spout on opening.

Unfortunately, opening of the tab to a substantial degree alters the rigidity of the container, which is often likely to be crushed when it is gripped in order to empty the package via its pouring spout: the contents of the flexible lining are then ejected suddenly and the package falls from the hand of the person using it.

In order to make a package of this kind resistant to the crushing that it sustains when seized in the hand the walls of the container must be of a substantial thickness which appreciably increases its manufacturing cost, particularly in view of the fact that this kind of package is intended to be discarded after use.

It is known that one method adopted to render a container of a semi-rigid material more crush-proof consists in providing it, generally at the cap end, with a continuous flat flange to which the latter is fixed, this flange being obtained by bending the flaps each of which forms an integral part of one of the lateral faces of the container.

But a method of this kind is ineffective in the case of the known package described above, since the opening for the tab is necessarily formed by interrupting the flange, i.e. by considerably diminishing its efficiency. It has been suggested, in the case of a container including a flange similar to that described above, that the openin g in the cap might be placed towards the centre of the latter, but such a position is incompatible with the use of a lining in the form of a bag since the latter must then 65 adopt a quite special form the production of which would complicate manufacture of the package and would appreciably increase its manufacturing costs.

From an entirely general point of view, it has further appeared in practice that to place the opening tab of the package on its cap was not the best solution.

In fact, it was found that it was sometimes difficult for 5 the user to extract the corner of the lining intended to form the pouring spout through the opening left by the tab, this corner not always being attached to the back of the latter to the best effect. In fact, all packages consisting of a semi-rigid container lined with an impervious bag are produced in the following way: first of all the enclosure of the container is assembled, this being closed at one of its ends by the base or by the cap before the bag, filled and sealed, is fitted into it through the other end which is still open, and which other end is then closed; when the bag is introduced through the base of the container it is practically impossible to verify the position of the corner intended to form the pouring spout, which is placed out of true and is frequently squashed against the back of the tab where it becomes stuck in a wrong position; when, on the other hand, the bag is introduced through the cap end, it is a simple matter to verify the position of the corner before the container is finally closed, but it has been found that due to the fact that it does not come up hard against the back of the tab the corner adheres poorly to it and sometimes moves out of place, which makes it difficult to extract.

Moreover, a pouring spout fitted into the cap of the package has proved to be of little practical effect, the user being forced to tilt the package sharply in order to empty it of its contents. Moreover, encrustations inevitably spread over the lid, generally in horizontal fash ion, when they cannot escape of their own accord, which is not hygienic and gives the package a scruffy look once it is opened.

Finally, where a container used as a packaging element takes the form of an enclosure sealed by a detachable base and cap, such as arrangement requires a separate base and cap to be provided.

The purpose of the present invention is to remedy all these inconveniences by proposing a new semi-rigid package which is simple and economic to manufacture while at the same time being far more practical to use than the analogous types of package known so far.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention there is provided an impervious package comprising:

a container formed by a number of panels into a rigid enclosure of polygonal cross section;

a rigid cap and a rigid base sealing said enclosure at respective ends thereof;

means for fixing said cap and said base to said enclosure ends, said means comprising at least a flap hinged to each cap end of said panels, said flaps at at least the cap end of the enclosure forming a flat continuous flange cross-bracing the enclosure, one panel having tear line perforations therein constituting, together with at least part of the hinge between said one panel and the related flap, a tab hinged to said enclosure and allowing partial opening of the container and at least one impermeable lining within the container, said lining comprising a flexible tube sealed at both ends which respectively correspond to the cap and base ends of the enclosure.

Composed in principle of an impervious bag fitted into a semi-rigid container, the package in the invention offers full security as regards its imperviousness without its manufacture thereby being complicated.

The container used in preparing it offers a high degree of rigidity due to its consisting essentially of a rigid enclosure of polygonal section fitted, preferably in the region of one of its two ends, with a flat continuous flange to stiffen it formed by folded flaps along the lateral faces of the enclosure.

Since this flange can serve for example by gluing or by heat-welding to retain the cap of the base of the container, the quantity of material used to make up the latter is reduced to a minimuum and the closed container does not include, as is the case with a known package, a series of flaps more or less integrally one above the other offering substantial purchase leading to tearing, for example when the packages are stacked.

Perforations for the opening tab being provided, in the case of a package according to the invention, in one of the panels of the enclosure forming the lateral wall of the package, the continuity of the flange keeping it rigid is not affected when it is opened and the package retains all its rigidity when it is handled.

Moreover, the lateral faces of the package being generally vertically arranged, the expulsion of any encrustations in its contents is to a large extent facilitated.

Placing the opening tab and the pouring spoutjn this position further offers advantages in connection with the production of the package, since the opening tab can be impressed on the lateral wall at the same time as the cuts facilitating pleating of the flaps and the panels of the polygonal enclosure; the cap and the base can then be identical and formed simply from, for example, a sheet of card.

Finally, owing to this new position for the opening tab of the container, the corner of the bag intended to form the pouring spout can be easily fixed at exactly the right place on the back of the tab by adopting a process of producing the package which is a characteristic of the invention. In fact, when introducing the bag into the enclosure through the base of the latter in accordance with the invention, a perfect setting of the corner and the bag in their correct relative positions can be ensured, since the corner is held between the enclosure and the bag until the latter comes into contact with the cap; the corner then comes up against the back of the tab to which it is pressed by the contents of the bag which moreover leads to it being easily disengaged when the tab is opened, whether or not these two items are glued to each other.

The process of manufacturing such a package in accordance with the invention by introducing an oblong flexible tube cross-sealed at its two ends and containing the product to be packaged into a rigid polygonal enclosure closed at one of its ends by a cap, is characterised by introducing the sealed flexible tube into the enclosure through the base of the latter, folding down against the internal faces of the enclosure the corner formed by the crossways sealing of the end of the tube introduced initially, and by positioning the said tube in such a way that one of these corners comes to rest against the opening tab.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.

The invention will be better understood if reference is made to the embodiment below and to the appended drawings, relating to a non-limitative method of realising a package in accordance with the invention. In the drawings;

FIG. 1 shows a sheet of rigid material cut so as to make up a polygonal enclosure forming the lateral wall of a package in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view ofa section of rigid material intended to form the base and the lid of the package;

FIG. 3 shows a vertical sectional view of such a package before closure of the card casing; and

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a finished package in accordance with the invention, after disengagement of a pouring spout.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a band I of rigid material. for example card or plastic, intended to form the lateral wall of the package, which here consists of four identical rectangular panels 2 to 5, joined one to the other along one of their long sides in such a way as to form an enclosure of polygonal section by pleating the band 1 along these sides.

The band 1 consequently comprises the four panels 2 to 5, joined one to the other along their long sides created by pre-folding lines, the last of which, hinged along its free long side, includes a flap 6 intended to be fixed to panel 2, along the free long side of the latter, when the package is assembled (free side is here intended to mean one side of one of the panels 2 to 5 which is not common with another panel when the enclosure is still in its flat band state).

Furthermore, the band 1 includes eight flaps 7 to 14, hinged one each to the short side of each of the panels 2 to 5, each of which flap is in trapezoidal form the wider base of which coincides with a short side of the panel to which it is hinged. The four flaps 7 to 10 all lying along the same long edge of the band 1 are intended, when the package is assembled, to form a continuous flat flange 24 (FIG. 4) to which, by using any suitable means such as gluing, for example, a cap 19 will be fixed, the four flaps 11 to 14 lying along the second long edge of the band 1 in turn serving to form an identical flange at the bottom end of the package for the purpose of a base 25 fixed thereto.

In order to obtain a perfectly continuous flange, it is of course necessary that the flaps 7 to 10 and 11 to 14 fulfil a certain number of geometrical conditions: in the embodiment shown, where the assembled enclosure has a square section, such of the lateral edges of the flaps as have to join up with each other when the package is assembled must necessarily together form a right angle (these lateral edges correspond to the oblique sides of the trapezium). The angle they form may possible be very slightly acute so that no difficulty may be presented in pleating them despite inevitable imprecision in the dimensions, particularly where cardboard is used.

According to the invention, one of the panels of the enclosure, for example panel 2, includes perforations 26 describing, together with at least part of the hinge 27 on the said panel 2 and of the corresponding flap 7, a tab 15 allowing partial opening. Moreover, in order to facilitate eventual opening by the user the tab 15 includes a tongue 23, similarly pre-cut in panel 2 of the enclosure, which the user initially presses in in order, subsequently, to be able to pull the tab 15 outwards.

In addition to the advantages of a location of this kind already stated, the perforations for the tab 15 and the tongue 23 may therefore be prepared simultaneously with the pre-folding lines on band 1, the base 25 and the cap 19 of the container being then formed by simple plaquettes of a stiff material, cut in the form and dimensions of the section of the enclosure: for example, FIG. 2 shows a square plaquette that may be used for the base or the cap of the package formed from the band 1 shown in FIG. 1.

The base and the cap can of course be prepared from a material other than that which forms the enclosure; they may further, carry inscriptions such as a trademark or a disposal date, while the same type of enclosure may be used to package different kinds of products.

It is of course understood that the means of preparing the container described above is only a non-limitative example and that, in particular, containers may be provided with a section other than square, any polygonal section being obtainable provided that the geometrical conditions are observed allowing a continuous flat flange to be achieved by means of the flaps hinged to the panels of the enclosure, this being done at least at that end of the package where the cap fits.

As FIGS, 2 and 3 show, the semi-rigid container formed by the enclosure, its base and its cap, encloses an impermeable lining 18 created, for example, by means of an oblong flexible tube cross-sealed at its two ends, which correspond respectively at the cap end 19 and the base end 25 of the rigid container.

It is known that cross-sealing of a tube of this kind produces two pointed corners 16-17 and 21-22 at each of the two ends.

According to the invention, the corners 16 and 17 resulting from the cross-sealing of the ends of the lining 18 corresponding to the level of the cap 19 of the container are folded back in such a way as to lodge between the lining 18 and the lateral panels 2 and 4 of the container; the corner 16 is intended to form a pouring spout that serves to empty the package of its contents and, for this purpose, it is situated at the back of the pre-cut tab 15.

This arrangement is achieved by assembling the containers four lateral panels 2 to 5, using the flap 6, by then gluing the cap 19 on flaps 7 to 10 of the panels, folded over in such a way as to form the flat continuous flange 24, and finally by introducing in the proper position the sealed lining 18 containing the material 20 to be packaged, through the opening remaining free, i.e., through the base of the casing. The corners l6 and 17 ofthe lining 18 automatically take up the required position; in particular, corner 16 comes to rest against the tab through the pressure of the material 20 contained in the sealed lining 18 (this stage in producing the package is depicted in FIG. 3). It is then sufficient to fold back horizontally the two corners 21 and 22 of the lining 18 corresponding to the base of the package, and then flaps 11 to 14 of the panels of the casing, which forms a flat continuous flange analogous to the flange 24, to which a base 25 (not shown in FIG. 3)

identical to the cap 19 is glued.

When part of the contents of the package is to be removed, as stated above, the tongue 23 is first pressed in so that the finger can be placed inside the package to draw out the tab 15 which frees the corner 16 of the lining. If necessary, means of fixing the corner 16 to the back of the tab 15 can be provided, so that the latter pulls the corner towards the opening.

In the course of this stage of opening the package, the tab 15 pivots on its hinge 27, the flap 7 at all times forming an integral part of the upper flange 24 which ensures the rigidity of the package at cap level (see P10. 4, in particular, in which the cap 19 is shown in cut-away position so as to demonstrate the flange 24).

When the corner 16 is disengaged, it is a simple matter to cut it near to its end 28 in order to free the contents of the lining 18, (material 20), and this operation can moreover be facilitated ifa notch such as 29 is cut into the band produced by cross-welding the lining.

The package that has been described above is naturally capable of many variations falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. In particular, it can be endowed with a number of improvements to facilitate its use in certain specific cases: for example, if the contents are heavy, it may be worth providing it with a strap fitted round the enclosure and serving to carry and hold the package during use; further, the enclosure may be compartmentalised, each compartment being equipped with an impervious lining and containing a separate pouring spout.

' I claim:

1. An impervious package comprising:

a container formed by a number of panels into a rigid enclosure of polygonal cross section;

a rigid cap and a rigid base sealing said enclosure at respective ends thereof;

means for fixing said cap and said base to said enclosure ends, said means comprising at least a flap hinged to each cap end of said panels, said flaps at at least the cap end of the enclosure forming a flat continuous flange cross-bracing the enclosure, one panel having tear line perforations therein constituting, together with at least part of the hinge between said one panel and the related flap, a tab hinged to said enclosure and allowing partial opening of the container; and

at least one impermeable lining within the container,

said lining comprising a flexible tube sealed at both ends which respectively correspond to the cap and base ends of the enclosure.

2. An impervious package as claimed in f im 1, wherein the impervious lining includes, adjacent the tab, a corner capable of being drawn outside the container through the opening created by the tab upon tearing of the tear-line, and of forming a pouring spout when opened.

3. An impervious packaged as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said corner includes a notch facilitating its opening. 

1. An impervious package comprising: a container formed by a number of panels into a rigid enclosure of polygonal cross section; a rigid cap and a rigid base sealing said enclosure at respective ends thereof; means for fixing said cap and said base to said enclosurE ends, said means comprising at least a flap hinged to each cap end of said panels, said flaps at at least the cap end of the enclosure forming a flat continuous flange cross-bracing the enclosure, one panel having tear line perforations therein constituting, together with at least part of the hinge between said one panel and the related flap, a tab hinged to said enclosure and allowing partial opening of the container; and at least one impermeable lining within the container, said lining comprising a flexible tube sealed at both ends which respectively correspond to the cap and base ends of the enclosure.
 1. An impervious package comprising: a container formed by a number of panels into a rigid enclosure of polygonal cross section; a rigid cap and a rigid base sealing said enclosure at respective ends thereof; means for fixing said cap and said base to said enclosurE ends, said means comprising at least a flap hinged to each cap end of said panels, said flaps at at least the cap end of the enclosure forming a flat continuous flange cross-bracing the enclosure, one panel having tear line perforations therein constituting, together with at least part of the hinge between said one panel and the related flap, a tab hinged to said enclosure and allowing partial opening of the container; and at least one impermeable lining within the container, said lining comprising a flexible tube sealed at both ends which respectively correspond to the cap and base ends of the enclosure.
 2. An impervious package as claimed in claim 1, wherein the impervious lining includes, adjacent the tab, a corner capable of being drawn outside the container through the opening created by the tab upon tearing of the tear-line, and of forming a pouring spout when opened. 